Talk:Unicorn
I don't think "Unicorn" fits the "Alien Fauna" category which looks like it should be only SF alien creatures. A new category of "Mythological Beasts" might be better. Then move the "Dragon of Bulola" from "Supernatural Beings" to the new category too since it doesn't appear to be sentient in the story. The "Supernatural" would then include creatures from mythology that think and speak, e.g. the satyr in "Goddess for a Day". What do you think? If you agree, then I'll make the changes. ML4E 13:17, 9 October 2007 (UTC) Unicorn in Alien Fauna was bothering me as well. I didn't have the gumption to do anything about it. Please make the changes when you get the chance. TR 15:16, 9 October 2007 (UTC) You know, given that all equinoids are able to cross-breed, and that unicorns are treated as such banal, common animals in Detina and Derlavai, I'm half-surprised we never met any horned mules or horse-unicorn hybrids, something like that. Turtle Fan 18:38, June 13, 2011 (UTC) Umm,the introduction paragraph mentions Detina,but just curious,why is there nothing about unicorns in Detina?Zhukov15 (talk) 23:48, May 12, 2013 (UTC)Zhukov15 :Probably because none of the regular contributors here have read the series. I certainly haven't and so I don't feel comfortable creating a sub-section for it. ML4E (talk) 20:29, May 14, 2013 (UTC) ::I've read Detina, and that note in the intro really is the long and short of it. There's nothing exotic about them at all, there's a 1:1 correspondence between them and real-world horses. So I see no point to giving them a section. All it would say is a whole lot of "So-and-so rode a unicorn." Turtle Fan (talk) 04:39, May 15, 2013 (UTC) ::Might warrant a paragraph although I'm not clear how to do it in-universe. ML4E (talk) 23:27, May 16, 2013 (UTC) :::"Unicorns were the primary riding animals and beasts of burden for the Detinan armies?" Turtle Fan (talk) 00:54, May 17, 2013 (UTC) :::About right I guess. Anything about their care and feeding that would be different from OTL horses? Any other beasts of burden like oxen? ML4E (talk) 18:17, May 17, 2013 (UTC) ::::To the first question, not at all. In Derlavai characters periodically spoke in sucb a way as to suggest unicorns were "better" than horses, but no such comparisons here. In fact, horses appear not to exist, but unicorns have replaced them and are completely identical. To the second question, donkeys are present as well. No horned mules, which come to think of it is a bit odd. One would think that, as in our world, they'd offer advantages over both their parents in certain specific situations. And of course, examples of cross-fertilization between every possible combination of equine species have been recorded in our world, so having it be impossible in this case would be odd indeed. (No word on whether zebras or onagers or whatever exist in this world.) Turtle Fan (talk) 22:11, May 17, 2013 (UTC) Horse and Donkey Articles Does anyone think that there should be separate articles for horses and donkeys? I know that donkeys have a roll in The War Between the Provinces Series and horses appear in various series and novels. -- 15:40, December 19, 2015 (UTC)Jacob Chesley the Alternate Historian :Perhaps. I think the difference is, horses and donkeys are animals with which we're all very familiar already. We know as much as we're likely to need to or want to about their life cycles and the purposes to which they've been domesticated, and if we don't we can easily find that information from other sources. Unicorns, on the other hand, are fictitious, and there are many different pieces of lore surrounding them; so any given author has some leeway in defining the rules of how they work. Thus, it's a lot more important to provide HT's readers with this info, as it can't easily be found elsewhere. Turtle Fan (talk) 16:31, December 19, 2015 (UTC) ::I agree. While we have a number of pet dogs as characters here, note that we don't have a dogs page. Should HT tell a story about horses evolving and conquering earth, then an article would make sense. TR (talk) 17:22, December 19, 2015 (UTC) ::Likewise. We also have three named horses but no article seems to be needed. T. and the C. Lancers might warrant an article on the return of warhorses since The Change but I didn't think so when I wrote it up. On the other hand, a woolly mammoths article was warranted given that they are less well known than horses. ML4E (talk) 18:42, December 19, 2015 (UTC) :::That, and HT had to make up his own rules of what sort of role mammoths play in a fictional but relatively realistic society. Turtle Fan (talk) 02:35, December 20, 2015 (UTC) ::::God, I can't believe that this discussion is almost three years old! Well, a Horse article was created two years ago so that partly ends that discussion. However, should we create an article for donkeys or not? --JCC the Alternate Historian (talk) 19:40, November 11, 2018 (UTC) :::::Donkey might be justified for The War Between the Provinces. I can't think of any other example where it would be needed.JonathanMarkoff (talk) 04:45, November 12, 2018 (UTC) In future, please do not use Jonathan alone as permission to go ahead. Please wait for an Admin to comment. Having said that, I will grant you that the article you created does seem to be justified. ML4E (talk) 18:50, November 12, 2018 (UTC) :Alright ML4E, I'll take your word for it. --JCC the Alternate Historian (talk) 15:20, November 13, 2018 (UTC)